Skorton named to Goldman Sachs advisory council, headed by Warren Buffett

Cornell President David Skorton has been named to a Goldman Sachs advisory council, co-chaired by Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, to help steer a new Goldman Sachs $500 million, five-year initiative: 10,000 Small Businesses.

The project is intended to "unlock the growth and job-creation potential of 10,000 small businesses across the United States through greater access to business education, mentors and networks, and financial capital," according to the company.

It will provide practical business education via partnerships and scholarships to small business owners through educational institutions; mentoring and networking opportunities; loans and grants; and technical assistance.

Buffett, Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein and Michael Porter, a professor at Harvard Business School, will lead the project with the help of the advisory council, which also includes former Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings; the deans of the Columbia Business School and The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania; the CEOs or presidents of the American Association of Community Colleges, National Federation of Independent Business, National Urban League, U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Babson College, among others.

Skorton serves on various economic advising boards, including the Business-Higher Education Forum and a task force to which he was appointed by N.Y. Gov. David Paterson that is aimed at using industry-higher education partnerships to diversify New York's economy.

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Claudia Wheatley